2012 green line fabia, 1.2 diesel, getting hot and smoke from engine bay…. Pulled up at home with the fan on bit of smoke coming from under the bonnet, smells of burnt oil (I think). Smoke and a lot of heat coming from back of engine, where exhaust fits into the flange, no coolant loss or oil loss recently had full service… no leaks that I can see… this is after a 5 mile ish journey…. Any ideas….. no codes or warning whistles and bells, no overheat light…. Runs sweet as a nut…. Weird

I would suspect a slight oil leak onto the exhaust. It burns off immediately hence the smoke and the smell but apart from a dark stain on the exhaust nothing to see. Check carefully just above the exhaust.

I thought so as well mate, but the overheating making the fan kick in, is a bit weird… it is really hot at the back of the engine, where the censor is screwed into pipe, …no coolant loss or any other warning lights for over heat, but you can smell it’s getting hot…

Does your temperature gauge indicate overheating?

@Hig   What did the 'Full Service' consist of.  Was there something more than an Oil & Filter change and look see done? 

 

?

Was your 1.2 TDI ever in and had 'The Fix' carried out for the VW Defeat Device emissions cheat'.    They never took the chance and did it now did they?

No temperature gauge, worse thing the car manufacturers did… no the red overheat or even amber overheat ever come on, I was thinking head gasket at first, but no oil to water contamination, clean as a whistle from exhaust while driving, could it be water pump, Thermostat, some blockage… it’s such a cracking little car, free tax, shame to have to get rid

An OBD II reader should show water temp. It might be worth getting a cheap one. https://www.amazon.co.uk/MOTOPOWER-MP69033-Universal-Diagnostic-Protocol/dp/B07Z3HB7DR/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-RvKYqyEHbsL7qn4LBPvNkcvTKTaFoHfmoDGarlX0Jgownq001Y4vg2QnTzRBNuA8uEJSxA09XlUU63ONNeV8-kwfF6g5HK6GUmMwmVz4exbdxJWyxO5WTWjj5-khkt2KStiJ9nlbHeaUackNZg8j51LISxWteyGrfM4qSfBkjbQNiMsiDc9gCxw5oBxAhYBBlThucD1nvAyIHdFf-paDu057YDiSQrAsyWHBEL1d0PJACD2hMvUwSSYTKDij4DDCeFNexJXt5z6KorpzT9Y0X_oc7YP7TCsVw9msDiZS7g.kR6f59ZysTcI--IZYfifeUvo14tmwJIEXqY5j3xTN-I&dib_tag=se&keywords=vw+diagnostic+tool&qid=1726045925&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

Yeh Iv got one, but not put it on to get live data while running, I can tell the coolants getting hot with the fan kicking in… car manufacturers need to put the simple and reliable temp gauge back in cars…

@Jocko just fyi you can save post space and virtual ink by losing the route bit on the link and just go to the end of the number. - https://www.amazon.co.uk/MOTOPOWER-MP69033-Universal-Diagnostic-Protocol/dp/B07Z3HB7DR/

 

9 hours ago, Hig said:

Yeh Iv got one, but not put it on to get live data while running, I can tell the coolants getting hot with the fan kicking in… car manufacturers need to put the simple and reliable temp gauge back in cars…

 

The temp gauge is heavily biased anyway so not much more use than a couple of warning lights anyway.

 

Is there a chance it was doing a regen at the time or the air con on which could explain the fan? Is the DPF differential pressure sensor still intact?

 

I would drive with the live data next time you make a trip and just confirm the overheating theory then you can start looking at things like the water pump or thermostat

Air con not on, not sure about re gen, … will start looking at water pump or thermostat when I get chance, we have two Fabias so  not without a car…..  had it ticking over for a while yesterday with the top off the expansion bottle, coolant seems to be returning as it should, with all the rain we’ve had it’s difficult to tell if there is coolant leaking /dripping on the drive, non visible around the engine bay.. il do the live data at the weekend …. No coolant loss in bottle so far, heater works in car, hot and cold so I thought that would rule out thermostat…

Just took car out for a short spin this morning.. no overheating no smoke from under the bonnet, plugged OBD in for live Data, and Temps never came up in the endless list of live Data, unless it’s called something else… no codes / codes stored.. so don’t know… ran it for a while with the cap off the coolant bottle…. Coolant returning to bottle so pump seems ok… and bottle pressurises…. So don’t know…. But tomorrow could be different that’s how it seems to be, it’s never every day

In live data (depending on your scan tool perhaps) you should have a tick box for coolant temperature sensor (s) to view, under engine data I'd expect.  Coolant leak would be more steam than smoke, as already put smoke could be oil burning off something like the exhaust (don't breath it in).  On tangent, you could also have smoke from things like the brake pads if they're stuck or very heavy use, that would also cause the engine to get hot, as could exhaust problems.

 

It's 12 years old and a diesel, so often lots of dirty oil about the engine bay, as put already if some gets on the exhaust it will burnt, smoke and smell.

 

As well as getting out the sexy big boys toy of scan tool did you also cover the basics like clecking the level (and condition) of the engine oil, and as put earlier has the car been regularly and timely serviced, engine air filter changed when required.  Could you check anything to do with the DPF and exhaust with your scan tool.  That's me out of ideas.

 

Just had a full service oil and filter and air filter and brakes done, and coolant flush, at a cost of £600…  brakes are nice and free, oil smell and smoke is coming from back of engine near exhaust… no leaks anywhere Iv had my hands and fingers everywhere.. surely a dpf burn should come out the back of the exhaust… ….. like to say this issue was occurring before the service that’s why I had it done, just to eliminate crap oil or filter…… il try a live data again when the missus can drive it and I can study the Data properly…. This time with my glasses on😳

'A coolant flush'.    That strikes fear in me right away.  Was the coolant really needing changed and a flush carried out.

Nothing wrong with a change of coolant on a 12 year old car, best filled with one of those pressure things on these engines perhaps but it can be done without.

 

@Hig you have run the engine with the cabin heater temperature set to highest setting?

 

Yeh done all that, just weird it does it one day then not the next, I was thinking thermostat, but then I wouldn’t get heat to the cabin, is that correct…. The only thing I did different this morning was undo the expansion bottle cap before I started it. Let the pressure off … coolant level all fine……. Lord knows mate

Absolutely nothing wrong with changed 12 year old coolant or assuming it is 12 years old, maybe having tested the strength.        ? Can I ask again had the car been given The Fix back sometimes somewhere?    The £600 was lots of money. Were brake components required? 

The missus always takes the car to Kiki fit, needed new front discs and pads… but when she dropped it off she said oh give it the full works… mistake.. they charged £80 just for pads and £170 for front discs… I was livid, they came up with some bull**** about pads were for life and get free pad change for the life of the car, charged £300 for full service but never changed the fuel filter.. when I challenged them they said fuel filter was optional and should have been another £80.. I can change a fuel filter in about 20 seconds on a fabia… and get a full brake disc and pad set the front for about £40… never again, I was busy so just left the missus to sort it with Kwik fit… they really did revert to type and rip her off…. Not happy mate…. Wonder if there are any Kwik fit employees on the forum could explain this one…. 

Edited 12 September, 20241 yr by Hig

OK.

That explains a lot.   

  I punched out a Kwik Foot fitter once. 

He serviced the girls car as me and a pal watched from the viewing area. No oil filter change, wiped and then a dirty mark.

She did not pay and they said they were getting the police, i said make my day.

16 hours ago, Hig said:

heater works in car, hot and cold so I thought that would rule out thermostat…

BTW that does not rule out the thermostat. If it was stuck open you might struggle to get hot air quickly but if it sticks closed you would still get good flow and heat in the cabin and overheating.

 

 

 

 

7 hours ago, SuperbTWM said:

BTW that does not rule out the thermostat. If it was stuck open you might struggle to get hot air quickly but if it sticks closed you would still get good flow and heat in the cabin and overheating.

 

 

 

 

Yeh fair point, but on a run I can play with the heat settings and all is normal Hot when on hot, Cold when on cold, Crisp cold air con….. I’m not ruling any thing out, and my first instinct was Thermostat… it’s just finding time to sort it all, Our other Skoda Fabia, has been faultless in the 6 yrs we’ve had it, mk2 1600tdi much better engine than the little 1.2… but saying that, the thing runs sweet, apart from this issue😳